Silo and method of erecting silos



B, B. VOHSE.

SILO AND METHOD 0F ERECTING SIL0S-I APPLICATION HLED MAY Q 1911..

1,418,215 Patented May3o,1922,

1 EZ? $HEETS -SHEET l B, B. VOHSE.

SILO AND METHOD 0F ERECTING SILOS.

APPLICATIGVN FILED MYB, |917.

Patented May 30, 1922'.

1,41sg21e.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- i 'Loire stares PATENT orf-rica."

BLANCHARD IB.y VORSE, 0F DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN `SILO COMPANY,

vIIJIVII'IED, A CORPORATION 0F WEST VIRGINIA.

. sino yAND METHOD Application inea May 9,

T 0 aJZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, BLANCHARD B. VoRsE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and` State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Silos and Methods of Erecting Silos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to silo constructions and methods of erecting silos, in particular to a silo construction and a method and means of erecting the same which will -afford asilo so firmly braced and supported as to resist any conceivable wind action short o'f a cyclone, which would destroy everything in its path. y

As is Well known, the most frequent difficulty and danger with silos is that of collapse or distortion, with quickly following.

destruction due to wind action or unequal strains upon the silo. This means not only the loss of the silo but of the silage a farmer may be depending lupon to carry his vstock through the winter. Sometimes, because of the expansion of the staven-.two staves will buckle inwardly, forming a flat place in the silo and a` bulge at another point, after which the strains ordinarily imposed upon the structure by the hoops which encircle it7 the pressure of the silage, wind pressure, etc., soon cause its downfall. This danger also, my limproved method and construction entirely eliminates, by making the bulge, without which a flat place cannot occur, impossible.

Another commonly occurring accident is that the silo will creep orA walk on its foundation until a part of its circumference hasslipped over the edge, usually the inside edge of the foundation, with disastrous results.v This is particularly apt to happen, vas generally only an inch or two vof foundation projects inwardly beyond the inner periphery of a silo. This accident is also rendered absolutely impossible by my invention.

In the drawings:

Figures l to 4 are perspective views partly in cross-section illustrating the steps contemplated in erecting la silo according to my improved method.

Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view or' ERECTING sILos.

Specification of LettersPateiit.- Patented lusty ySO, 1922.

1917. serial No. 167,546.

showingthe construction of the interior of a silo when completed. .v

Figure 6 is a view of the complete silo with parts in section illustrating' the/ar rangement' of the bracing system. y

Figure 7 is a detail view of a modification.

In erecting a silo according to my im,- proved method, I first dig a hole, such `as indicated in Fig. l, approximately eighteen (18) inches greater in diameter than the silo I wish to erect. I next describe at the bottom of this hole two circles by means of themarkers l arranged upon the plank 2, supported upon the pivot 3 at the center of the hole in a fashion which will be clearly y understood, and eXcavate between these lines so as to provide a circular pit or trench. (I next ill up the pit or trench l with concrete even with the-top, forming a foundation i as shown in Figure 3. When this has hardh cned, I erect a silo S upon the foundation thus secured, applying diagonally arranged bracing rods 6 to the silo, these bracing rods terminating rin anchors 7 firmly embedded 'in the foundation 4, but preferably substantially yspaced from the inner periphery of the foundation 4. Subsequently I erect a form 8 about and Hush with the original hole, as clearly indicated in Figure 3, and fill up thefspace between the hole and form 8 and the silo with concrete. The form 8 is so shaped as to interrupt the concrete which projects above the ground enough to bring the bottom level of concrete at the frontof the silo exactly even with the bottomofy one of the doors, so as to permit the removal of such door.v Figure 4i.

The top of the portion 9 of lthe concreteh This is clearly indicated inA crete. vThe entire silo is firmly gripped in concrete throughout a substantial portion of its height, this concrete being inv turn adejguately supported by the surrounding earth. y such a construction the silo is as firmly located as the foundation of a building, and practically indestructible except by fire.

The advantages of the method of construction above described are numerous and include in addition to those specifically nientioned above, the factv that by this means the necessity for providing forms for erecting the foundation of a silo' (except for vthe singie form 8) is rendered unnecessary. The staves of the silo itself form the inner forni,

, saving very considerably in labor and effort.

It would be possibleto omitthe form 8 according to method, if so desired, but

this, being a single form arranged flush with the large hole, 1s easy to erect, and it is preferable to increase the sheathing or en- -casinoof concrete by carrying the same up h a little way above the ground. y c

Furthermore, according to my method,

there is no shoulder adjacent "the bottom ofv the silo, where the wooden silo wall rests upon the foundation, the inner periphery of which is smaller than the inner periphery of the silo. Sucha shoulder catches the silage as it settles, forming air spaces and the like, and causing the destruction of a considerable portion of thel silage.`

To afford the best resultsit is preferable that l vention be made of wood 'treated with the heat and pressure method, or wood treated in such a fashion as to prevent its being particularly liable to rot, or the like. Another advantage involved in first treatingthe wood beforel erecting a silo according` to my invention, is that if the silo berendered waterproof, the staves will not absorb any considerable quantity of water, and rwill not, therefore, expand excessively, which might tend to crowd them too closely together if the are encased solidly in concrete. rlhe fact tiat thel Iconcrete and iron hoops of the silo have exactly the same coefficient of eX- pansion will largely prevent any danger` to the'concrete sheathing from expansion of the silo staves because the size of the silo f is practically controlled by its hoops, which confine and bind the staves and limit them. For this reason it is generally unnecessary to reinforce the vconcrete silo sheating and a thin f layer of concrete may be use main dependence being imposed upon the surrounding earth, which would be impossible vwere all of `the strain of the expanding staves to come directly against the concrete sheath, which would probably rupture' it.

the sila structure according to my in# To make for double security, however, reinforcing iron may be laid circumferentially i Y .the wall 9 is enlarged to cover the surrounding earth and make a firm support and shoulder asv indicated. Thisy presents a neater appearance and this form of construction may be employed wherethelearth is hard and will support itself readily.

Having now described my invention, l claim p l. The method of erecting a silo 4so as to resist wind action which consists in making in the ground an annular hole having a larger diameter than the finished silo is to have, forming a silo foundation in the bottom of said hole, embedding anchoring means in said foundation during the forma'- tion thereof, erecting on said foundation a stave silo, securing in the anchoring means andl adjacent the top of the silo bracing means extending diagonally of said silo, and filling the space between the lower portion of the silo and the surrounding earth wall with concrete, whereby the .silov visafirvrnly supported and cannotv be distorted orv collapsed by wind pressures.

2.,' A stave silo construction comprising a foundation sunk in the ground, asilo anchored on said foundation by diagonally extending anchor rods secured to the foundation andv adjacent the top of the silo, a sheating of concrete braced by the sur-4 rounding earth andr tight-ly gripping said siloand imbedding the lower portion of the anchor rods, said sheating beingcontinued above ground.

3. A. silo constructioncomprising an annular concrete foundation sunk in the ground, a wooden stave silo resting near' the middle of said foundation, a wall of earth surrounding and'spaced from the lower por# tion of said silo, a sheathing of4 concrete surrounding the bottom portion vof said,A silo, extending slightly above the earth walhand filling the space between the staves and earth, and anchoring rods to brace said silo` having. their bottom ends anchored in said concrete foundation and said concrete wall, said rods .being secured adjacent the top "of the `silo and extending diagonally thereof,

ln witness whereof, -l hereunto subscribe my name to this specification inthe pres cnceof two witnesses: I

BLANCHARD B. VORSE. Witnesses:

Lno E. STEVENS, JAMns E. MoR'roN. 

